NJ Ayuk, executive chairman at
the African Energy Chamber.
Oil discovery — game changer for SA
Total recently announced a major gas discovery off the southern
coast of South Africa. According to the African Energy Chamber
(AEC) the discovery was made in Block 11B/12B, 175km from the
shoreline in the Quteniqua Basin.
The discovery, which will help open a new hydrocarbons province
in South Africa, could prove the presence of billions of barrels of oil
equivalent in South African waters, which will undoubtedly change
the course of the country’s economy and help reduce dependency
on imports.
“The oil industry hopes this will be a catalyst and encouragement
for all policymakers to work on an enabling business environment
for exploration and drilling activities in South Africa,” declared NJ
Ayuk, executive chairman at the Chamber.
The gas discovery is a timely one, as the South African government
is currently working on new legislation separating oil and gas from
traditional minerals and has released last year a new Integrated
42 AFRICAN MINING MARCH - APRIL 2019
Resource Plan (IRP 2018), which ambitions to install an additional
8 100MW of gas-to-power capacity in South Africa by 2030.
“We believe South Africa holds the potential for many more
such discoveries, and the time has come to have a meaningful
conversation on local content development, so the development
of the industry benefits all South African workers and
contractors across the value chain and creates jobs for the
communities,” he added.
It further echoes increased engagement of the South African
government with the African and global oil industry. Since being
appointed energy minister in 2018, Jeff Radebe has been leading a
strong South African outreach to oil markets in Africa, including
Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, South Sudan, and many
Middle Eastern producers; attending meetings of the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna; and seeking
deals for state-owned South African companies such as the Central
Energy Fund and PetroSA. b
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